Attorneys representing an African -American mother in Philadelphia are claiming that her 2-year-old son was put in danger and used by the Philadelphia police to promote “propaganda” on social media.
The nation’s largest police union, the Fraternal Order of Police, posted an image to social media Thursday of a white Philadelphia police officer comforting a young Black child, pushing the image as further evidence of police benevolence in the face of demonstrations that have led to violence.
The message was posted amid ongoing clashes between protesters and law enforcement this week following the fatal police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr.
1/ This post by @GLFOP is a lie. My firm @MinceyFitzRoss represents this boy and his mother. This photo was taken moments after police attacked their vehicle, busted out the windows, ripped the mother from her car and assaulted her. pic.twitter.com/6dmDfoBe2B
— Riley H. Ross III (@AttorneyRoss) October 30, 2020
According to The Washington Post, the Fraternal Order of Police shared an image on Facebook and Twitter of a police officer holding a young child, along with the caption: “This child was lost during the violent riots in Philadelphia, wandering around barefoot in an area that was experiencing complete lawlessness. The only thing this Philadelphia police officer cared about in that moment was protecting this child.”
According to a report from The Hill, attorneys Riley H. Ross III and Kevin Mincey say that police actually took the boy from the back seat of an SUV after destroying the windows, as well as arresting and injuring his mother, who the Post reported was later released without charges.
The Philadelphia police used the child
“It’s propaganda,” Ross told the Post. “Using this kid in a way to say, ‘This kid was in danger and the police were only there to save him,’ when the police actually caused the danger. That little boy is terrified because of what the police did.”
https://twitter.com/chadloder/status/1321274917023674368
The Post reported that the images shared by the Philadelphia police union this week have since been deleted.
Mincey told the Post that overnight Monday, while violent demonstrations erupted throughout the city, Rickia Young, 28, borrowed her sister’s car, put her 2-year-old son in the back seat and drove to West Philadelphia to pick up her teenage nephew from a friend’s house.
You can read: Danielle Outlaw will release 911 call of Walter Wallace case
She eventually turned onto a street where police and protesters were clashing. Mincey claims that after Young attempted to turn her car around, Philadelphia officers surrounded the vehicle, shattering its windows and pulling Young and her 16-year-old nephew from the car.
A now-viral video of the incident shows Philadelphia police officers surrounding the vehicle, shattering its windows, and removing Young and her 16-year-old nephew before pushing them to the ground and grabbing the toddler from the back seat.
According to the Post, Mincey said Young was taken to the hospital with a bleeding head and bruises along her body, adding that she was separated from her son for hours.
The Inquirer first reported about the Fraternal Order of Police’s social media posts on Thursday.
While the Philadelphia police department did not immediately respond to the Post’s request for comment, it told the Inquirer that its internal affairs unit had opened an investigation into the incident.
Noticias Newswire
